Tag Archives: liberal media

Doug Smith: Here’s some common sense perspective on all this “shouting” about President Trump!

30 Sep

trump in wv

doug at wvhu

Doug Smith is an opinion columnist, historian and associate editor for Free State Patriot

September 30, 2019

 

Let’s take them sequentially, shall we?   

Editor’s disclaimer: Those incapable of incorporating logic into your mental processing, are free to return to your Sunday comics, gum wrappers and The Springer Show.  This could be hazardous to your mental stability.

1.      I started out, before his nomination, criticizing Donald Trump as an ass. Nothing to date has altered my opinion. He is rude, crude, and I would not be his buddy. However, that also does not alter my view that he was far and away a better choice than Hillary Clinton, who is vicious and utterly amoral. And based on his performance, I conclude that while I would have liked a less abrasive POTUS, he has done more than any POTUS since Reagan to roll back the progressive’s corrosive effects on the nation. I still give him a solid B.

2.      Joe Biden, like Hillary Clinton, needed to be investigated long ago, by someone who had not predetermined not to bring charges against a Democrat. He is dishonest, self-aggrandizing, and, apparently, utter lacking in a moral code. He committed plagiarism in law school, shamelessly stole speeches from better politicians. One must wonder how he ever managed to graduate. He has falsely, and wildly claimed that he went to law school on a full scholarship (false), graduated in the top of his class (also false), and had 3 undergraduate degrees (he had one, like most college graduates.) Like Hillary and Barack, he consistently tries to convince that he is the smartest guy in the room, without compelling evidence that this is even nearly true. He is also stupidly dishonest. How do we know about his shady and likely criminal dealings with Ukraine s government and a gas holding company, along with his son? Because he bragged about it, on tape. He could take advice in being Teflon from the Clintons.

3.      Impeachment is a political remedy for misbehavior in office. The Democrats have lived and breathed the idea of impeaching Donald Trump since late the night of November 8, 2016, when it became obvious that Hillary was extending her losing streak. Their perspective is not that we should impeach the President because of this act or that, but that we should impeach the President because we don’t like what he says and does, and we need to find a crime to match the punishment we are determined to meet out.

4.      The Democrats have a history of trying to destroy, rather than defeat, Republican Presidents. It is not too much of a stretch to note, that the Democrats’ resistance to the 1st Republican President led to Civil War, and that a Democrat, and actor, assassinated him. But in more modern history, since WW2, there have been 7 GOP POTUS. Of these, Eisenhower doesn’t really count, because he had to check his registration to say what his party was, and he was such a national hero after the war that he was untouchable. Ford doesn’t count, because he was in office only a short time, filling Nixon’s unexpired term. Of the remaining 5, who were elected and served at least one full term, the Democrats have sought to impeach every one of them. Check your history if you find this incredible. Democrats introduced bills to impeach Nixon, Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43, and they are carefully impeaching without impeaching Trump, largely because the want him gone, their lunatic base wants him impeached, but they realize that voting articles of impeachment will be a political disaster.

5.      When your irritating little brother or cousin bugs you, you may smack him. When you see 4 bigger guys jump on him and shove him down, you leap to his defense. This should explain why Trump supporters, even those, like me, who consider him an ass, but an effective ass, and OUR ass, are loathed to criticize him and quick to defend him. Like the camel sticking its nose in the tent, we realize that since the Dems and the Left attack him constantly, for everything, much of it made up, and not with the purpose of convincing him to alter course, but with the sole purpose of destroying him, we feel that we cannot give an inch in defending him. He may blunder sometimes, and his mouth may lead a life of its own, and he may be an ass, but the calculus that made him the choice over Hillary still holds, as do his results. The Dems, particularly the ones who suffer badly from the mental illness that is Liberalism, somehow have the idea that if only they can remove Trump, they will get Hillary. Of course, they don’t understand that what they would get is a fired-up President Pence, a seething GOP electorate, and, in 2021, unmovable GOP control of both Houses of Congress, and the White House, and, sometime in the foreseeable future, and 7-2 Originalist SCOTUS. Nor do they care. They are simply consumed by hate and want to hurt their enemies.

6.      As a student of history, I would urge any Leftists who still have thinking abilities unhampered by political madness to study Robespierre and the Jacobins in France. His final thought, before the guillotines that he set in motion descended on his neck must have been that it is easier to release the Kraken than to control it.

 

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Mark Caserta: Kavanaugh Hearings Become Circus in the Senate

1 Oct

The U.S. system of confirming Supreme Court justices has forever been tarnished.

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Day 1 of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process in the Senate.

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Mark Caserta:  Free State Patriot editor

October 1, 2018

 

 

“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”  The military order “Havoc”, was a signal given to the English military forces in the Middle Ages directing the troops (in Shakespeare’s colloquialism “the dogs of war”) to pillage and create chaos.

This phrase seems to define the new political methodology of the progressive Democrat Party.  Truly, these “representatives of the people” have pillaged the Senate confirmation process and instigated nothing less than fruitless, feckless havoc in the Senate chambers.

This “circus in the Senate,” masquerading as Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings has forever compromised the integrity and efficiency our judicial system, most assuredly for Republicans and Democrats, but more tragically, for Americans.

Understand, we’re talking about the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, where we need our brightest, most dexterous constitutional scholars weighing in on matters of the U.S. Constitution, on behalf of the American people!

But who the “H-E – “double-toothpicks” is going to want to throw their name in the hat to become a Supreme Court Justice?  Can you imagine anyone more qualified than Brett Kavanaugh seeking to join the highest court in the land? Yet, at the peril of losing a distinctive mechanism of our Republic, progressives have methodically orchestrated his failure, even before they knew anything about the man, much less the adjudicator!

Realistically, in the future, what sort of servant will be willing to place his or her livelihood and reputation on the altar of these politically ravenous, self-centered politicians?

Imagine, for a moment, that any individual, lacking any sort of verifiable proof, could presume any number of wild accusations against you, ignoring even the most noble of causes. Subsequently, they would force you into proving, beyond reasonable doubt, that you were innocent, or be subject to the unjust consequences of a guilty person.

Really?  We now have a “presumption of guilt” rather than a “presumption of innocence!

My friends, can you imagine the world in which we would live? Anyone wishing to cause any degree of harm, to anyone, for any reason, would be empowered to create havoc in their lives given the proper venue.

In fact, this is so upside down in its concept, any sane person would deem it laughable to even make the argument.  But not so, for liberal Democrats, who couldn’t give a rat’s hairy backside for your well-being.

Do we really pay these people to be this utterly negligent in their sworn duties to the United States?  Why do we keep hiring them year after year!

While the phrase, “presumption of innocence” isn’t articulated in the Constitution of the United States, as precedent, it’s been a basic component of a fair trial, or the fundamental liberty of Due Process as secured by the Fourteenth Amendment.

It is, in fact, the legal burden of the prosecution, to collect and present compelling evidence necessary to convict any individual of a crime.  If reasonable doubt remains, the accused must be acquitted.

The antics of liberal Democrats represent the antithesis of this constitutional premise.

But, in fairness, the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh has never been about guilt or innocence.  It’s about blocking a legitimate conservative nominee of the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, a man duly elected in 2016 by the American people who knew the balance of the Supreme Court, presumably for the next generation, would be decided by the next president.

As many are aware, an appointment to the U.S Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land.  Through the years, the court has been integral in giving us Roe v. Wade, the Affordable Care Act, and many other rulings heavily impacting our lives.

My fault, your fault, nobody’s fault, ownership of the ideological balance of the court has become a politically, weaponized tool for which many politicians would sell their soul, as it represents the “supreme” decision-making power in our country when argument meets impasse.

Throughout his campaign, Donald Trump made it clear he would appoint conservative judges who would interpret the law, versus legislating political ideology from the bench.  He even provided a list from which he would choose his nominees.

How can one be more transparent?

But trust me when I tell you President Trump could have nominated the honorable, Chief Justice John Marshall and liberal Democrats would have done everything possible to discredit him for the court.

It’s really quite sad the crippling concessions liberals are willing to make for Americans and our country simply to propagate their progressive ideology.

At what point does this “betraying of one’s country” become treasonous in nature?

I submit it already has.

Are these the people we want representing us in Washington?  Is this the ideology we want infesting our state? Our city?

I believe this is a problem that must be addressed on a national and local level, simultaneously.  As patriots, we have a responsibility to leverage our vote to return our country, our state and our city to greatness.

It’s crucial we begin examining politicians “records and actions” versus “politically expedient rhetoric.” Not only are they doing our people a disservice, they are now becoming enemies of the state, seeking to enhance their power and influence.

Liberals cannot be allowed to pillage and create havoc any longer.  And it’s up to you to stop them.

Get mad if you want, but anything less, frankly, makes one complicit in the offense.

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Mark Caserta: So, what is fake news and how do I recognize it?

20 Aug

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Mark Caserta:  Free State Patriot editor

August 20, 2018

 

The term, “fake news” has been bandied about a lot by both sides of the political spectrum.  Its definition seems to evolve based on its political expediency.

Discerning truth in reporting means being able to recognize fake news, so allow me to define the term as I see it applying to most media outlets today.

Fake news is information presented in a manner designed to disingenuously influence rather than inform.

There are basically three types of fake news.

The first is the “outright lie” or fabrication of a story or event. A perfect example would be the liberal Democrat procurement of a “fake” dossier on Donald Trump from Christopher Steele, of Fusion GPS, who was paid by the Democrat Party to do opposition research on Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.

As the investigation repeatedly failed to produce a single shred of evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia, the salacious dossier was fabricated and used no less than four times to obtain Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) warrants to continue investigating Trump, hoping to “strike gold” in the progressive pursuit to cripple his presidency.

After all, liberals have already proven Trump’s failure will be more rewarding for their mission than America’s success.

The next example of fake news is “filtered reporting” that conveniently eliminates facts or details that would fail to support a desired narrative.

A good example is the recent story about a “training camp” at a New Mexico compound accused of abusing children while training them to commit heinous acts of mass murder in their schools.

The liberal media nearly “wet” themselves as they excitedly reported the story, detailing the assault style weapons, handguns, ammunition and a shooting range found at the facility. The reports included information regarding surveillance of the facility and one of the children successfully texting authorities they were all in need of food and water.

Anti-gun liberals immediately leaped on the story blaming gun rights activists and Second Amendment proponents like the NRA.  The reporting of the training facility was chocked full of details which supported the liberal narrative that “guns” were the problem and their availability was causing massacres in our schools.

But nay, nay.  The liberal media reports included some of the details of the horrific facility, but not all! Progressive pundits failed to report one critical piece of information that would have stifled their narrative in dramatic fashion.

The individuals running this training camp were Islamic jihadists!  One of the Islamists is the son of an unindicted co-conspirator in the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, Siraj Wahhaj, an Imam, who had formerly offered prayer at a Democratic National Convention event in 2012.

This information was “conveniently” left out of the reporting as it didn’t support the liberal, anti-gun narrative.

Truth and integrity never seem to stand in the way of liberal news reporting. Only propagating the narrative matters.

Finally, fake news can also include “lop-sided” reporting, where a news outlet overwhelmingly presents one side of an argument while offering a “token taste” of the opposition under the guise of “balanced” reporting.

I believe we see that now, locally, from the Herald Dispatch (HD) in Huntington, WV., which seems to have succumb to its liberal cravings.

In my 14 years as a regular contributor to the paper’s opinion page, I’ve never seen it present partisan, liberal opinion it does now.  And despite being plagued by numerous critics and dwindling readership, the Herald Dispatch leadership are determined to “stay the course” in allowing their personal opinions of President Trump to dictate the balance of commentary.

It seems that not only is the First Amendment no longer important (a clause the HD should humbly remove from the paper) but also the return to advertisers and even the prosperity of their employees have now taken a back seat to their progressive political ideology.

Admittedly, the 24-hour news cycle has changed the dynamics of reporting. Each news entity is struggling to survive by being assertive and even aggressive in their reporting.  In fairness, there are some that still honor truth and integrity in journalism. They’re just hard to find.

But it’s important for each of us to know we can’t place our trust in a single news outlet for “truth-in-reporting”.  We must do our homework.  We must be cognizant of the facts and be prepared to take a stand where needed.

If we fail to arm ourselves with the knowledge needed to recognize and counter fake news, we will lose to their artful deception – plain and simple.

Sadly, when the smoke clears, it’s our country and ultimately our children who will pay for our lack of engagement.

 

 

 

 

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Bill Moore: Fake News and the War on the Press

15 Aug

 

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Bill Moore:  Local author and regular contributor to Free State Patriot

August 15, 2018

 

Over 100 newspapers from around the country are colluding to spread propaganda concerning our President, Donald Trump. Strong words, “collusion” and “propaganda”. They create images of spies or criminals in dark alleyways planning illegal activities. Or perhaps dropping leaflets or posting flyers giving a positive slant to an intolerable government.  In this case those words may not be strong enough.

On August 16th, 2018 at the behest of the Boston Globe the above mentioned 100 plus newspapers will run editorials denouncing what the Globe called a ‘‘dirty war against the free press.’’ We have all seen and heard the President call out different legacy media outlets as “fake news” or “failed such and such magazine”. Being called “fake news” is a far cry from a war on the “free press”. At no time has President Trump called for the destruction of the free press or the First Amendment which protects both free speech and free press. In other words, each newspaper that runs an editorial stating Trump has declared war on the press is creating more “fake news”. Basically, another day and another lie by the legacy media.

Collusion is defined has a “secret agreement undertaken for illicit or fraudulent purposes; conspiracy”. I will bet none of the papers will mention the editorials they publish were encouraged by The Boston Globe and “industry groups such as the American Society of News Editors and regional groups like the New England Newspaper and Press Association.” These groups encouraged all papers to unite against the “war” regardless of their own generalized editorial support or opposition of Trump’s policies.  That comment in and of itself is comical as Trump only receives 10% positive news coverage according to the Washington Times. Even Pew Research indicates Trump has double the negative press of Obama, Bill Clinton or George W Bush.

I highly doubt any paper actively supports our President in a meaningful way or with enough readership to matter. Given our improving status around the world, lower taxes, lower unemployment and improved GDP, why exactly is the news always so negative?

Propaganda according to my trusty dictionary is “information or statements of opinion that are deliberately circulated among the public to persuade the population to accept a particular point of view, esp. one in favor of or opposed to a particular movement, cause, or doctrine”. Clearly any editorial opinion is propaganda if it means to portray a situation or event in a manner to garner support for said opinion.

By collectively publishing editorials this week these newspapers are engaging in propaganda designed to convince the public that Donald Trump has declared war on the press and by extension the U.S. Constitution.

Calling a report “fake” or standing up for yourself and defending your reputation is a far cry from declaring war. War by its very nature must have some type of destruction. There has been no damage to the freedom of the press other than the self-inflicted variety. One could argue with all the un-named sources, uncorroborated tell all books and out right fiction published as news on an hourly basis, that the legacy media is doing a bang-up job of waging war against the First Amendment. In a real-world war propaganda is used to either by enemies of the state to inform the citizenry at large the current leadership is corrupt or by the state itself to defend its own policies drumming up support.

Next is for each side to repeat the lies until they are believed by enough people one way or the other. Once a critical mass of duped people is achieved, let the revolution (or impeachment ) begin.

The propaganda publishing newspapers include the Houston Chronicle, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Miami Herald, and Denver Post, to small weekly papers with circulations as low as 4,000. I believe this group of editorials will make the rounds of TV news shows as well. They may even try to pass all the different editorials off an organic “just kind of happened” movement.

Make no mistake this is a plan to further erode support of Trump and by association Republicans in the upcoming mid-term election. The legacy media is trying to neuter Trump’s impact on close races. All knowledgeable accounts indicate Trump rallies turned the tide for the Ohio race in favor of Republicans. Trumps coattails are proving to be strong. This has the Democrats and the left leaning media worried.

It is imperative Americans stay informed, support and protect each other while ferreting out the lies, fake news and propaganda running 24 hours a day on pretend news channels. 

 

 

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Mark Caserta: Nation’s political discourse impacts local columnist.

5 Aug

Has Huntington, WV’s only newspaper joined forces with the liberal media?

 

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Mark Caserta:  Free State Patriot editor

8.5.2018

 

Our nation’s number one threat may no longer emanate from a foreign entity, a rogue leader or even threat of war.

Our nation’s single, most urgent peril may stem from within – the liberal media.

I believe the liberal media has successfully propagated a vehement, political discourse that’s become nothing short of a debilitating disease, spreading its effect throughout every bone and sinew of our nation, crippling our Republic and dividing the American people.

And I’m very saddened to report, I firmly believe the Tri-State area has now been infected by this “journalistic disorder.”

For the past 14 years, I’ve been arguably, the primary, if not only, regular local, “conservative” contributor to the Herald-Dispatch (HD) in Huntington, WV.  I’ve never taken that responsibility lightly. I’ve been honored to be the voice of thousands of people who, otherwise, would not have their opinions shared in such a venue.

Together, my readers and I have had some successes.  In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump, the conservative candidate, won West Virginia with a whopping 68.5% of the vote per BallotPedia.  I happen to believe my readers and I, along with FreeStatePatriot.com, had some impact on the outcome of our state’s choice.

Following Hillary Clinton’s embarrassing loss to political outsider, Donald Trump, liberals simply lost their grasp of reality.  I believe they’ve proven they hate President Trump more than they love their country and I’ve endeavored to substantiate it with what I believe to be undeniable truths.  My columns have produced supportive evidence showing that no matter what “wins” President Trump has for the American people, liberals are more concerned with delegitimizing his presidency and his supporters than they are with fostering America’s peace and prosperity.

From the miraculous rebound of our economy, to record-low unemployment, increasing labor participation rate, more viable healthcare options, lower taxes, a stronger military and improved foreign relations, President Trump has amassed victories like nothing in my lifetime!  Yet, all the liberal media can do, including local columnists in the HD, is trash Trump based on his tweets, relationships and political incorrectness!

And as with President Trump, my readers have supported my writing through the years because I’ve always done my best to present the truth with integrity and the best interest of the people in mind.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, providing information in the “best interest of the people” is a diminishing aspiration for the HD.  In fact, HD leadership, for all intents and purposes, said just that.

In the interest of absolute clarity and transparency, here is the text from the actual email I received from the HD editorial page editor notifying me my columns would no longer be acceptable for publication in the newspaper.

“Hi Mark: I didn’t find pieces of your column submitted this week acceptable, in terms of your attacks on other columnists. Therefore, I am not publishing it.

 I have also decided that the H-D will no longer publish any more of your columns, partly due to this most recent submission, but also for a couple of other reasons. One is that you seldom write about any subject that is more local in nature; the other is that most of your columns repeat the same theme from week to week.”

Just so you’ll know that this isn’t about conservative vs. liberal, we are also discontinuing publication of Milt Hankins columns. He, too, veered off into a more direct response to your columns in a recent piece that I also chose not to publish, and also poses the same issues regarding local content and repetition.

 I appreciate the many columns you have contributed over the years, but I’m afraid this is no longer working in the newspaper’s best interests.”

I haven’t the words to share with my readers the shock I felt after receiving this, rather “matter of fact” email from my editor after 14 years of service.  Yes, I was paid for my columns, but I assure you, it was a gratuitous amount. I would have written for free.

If you’ve followed the Herald Dispatch for any length of time, you’ve noticed the guest column lineup throughout the week.  It’s not unusual to see back to back opinion pieces from the other liberal, local contributors lambasting Donald Trump and/or conservative values.

I was obviously the “token” conservative columnist!

On Fridays, which has been typically the day my column was published, many readers shared it was a “breath of fresh air” being able to read someone who truly represents who I believe are most readers in this area, with an opinion piece, usually written in support of a conservative agenda.

The “unacceptable” column to which the editor refers contained some direct call outs on local columnists for their hypocritical attacks on President Trump.  It’s available in its entirety on my blog’s website.  It’s “in your face” accuracy in identifying local hypocrisy, while not revealing columnist’s names, was apparently more than the HD leadership could fathom!

Let’s be clear.  Removing me as a local contributor to the newspaper had little to do with my final column.  The column was simply the “opportunity” for which the HD had been hoping, enabling them to rid themselves of this “rogue conservative” staining the editorial page and giving them headaches every Friday.

Allow me to offer these points in presenting my case that my dismissal was “politically expedient” for the HD.

Through the years, I’ve had a good working relationship with my editors. I’ve respected their position and learned from their experience. There have been a handful of instances where my editor refused to publish a column as it was originally submitted. Perhaps it was a bit “over-the-top” with regard to my conservative position, or the editor felt the column may have compromised my “credibility” as a writer.

However, in every single instance, the editor would reach out to me asking for a re-write, or at least give me an opportunity to write another piece. In the interest of being a paid, regular contributor, I would always comply.

This email arrived less than 24 hours prior to publication of what was to be my final column, hence no opportunity for a re-write.

Additionally, the HD editor felt the need to share that he was also discontinuing publication of another “liberal” columnist to show this had nothing to do with “liberal vs. conservative.”

How thoughtful.

While I strongly disagree with this liberal columnist’s dismissal, I believe he became an unfortunate casualty in an effort for the HD to save face.  Milt Hankins, the aforementioned columnist, in my opinion, had already lost credibility with readers by fostering outlandish liberal positions, I believe even local liberals stopped reading his material.  I believe the HD felt he wasn’t adding value and was simply expendable.

Regarding the “repetition” of my columns, I encourage readers to check out the exact same form of repetition from even the most “tenured” columnists still writing for the HD in their attacks on President Trump and his supporters.

The bottom-line, in this humble writer’s opinion, is the leadership and ownership of the Herald Dispatch had simply gotten tired of losing ground to this deplorable, right-wing, Trump supporter.  For no matter how many liberal columns the HD published – by Friday morning, they were rendered null and void.

As my friend Tom Roten, host of the popular, “Tom Roten Morning Show”, on 800 WVHU would say, “A lie is still a lie, no matter how many times you say it!”

My columns, for 14 years, offered truth and integrity.  While I sincerely appreciate the HD publishing my material, I did not write in the “interest of the newspaper.”  I wrote in the interest of the people.

And I shall continue to write!  Following my conversation with Tom on his morning show the day after my release from the HD, my blog, FreeStatePatriot.com, received a record number of hits, most likely more than the HD sold papers!  Tom also shared the podcast of the interview went “viral” in terms of normal site visits.  Praise God!

When liberals cannot substantiate their lies and animosity toward President Trump or any conservative, the only way they can “win” an argument is to quiet the voice of the opposition.

Unfortunately, for the HD, they haven’t quieted my voice, they’ve wakened a sleeping giant!  Doug Smith, co-editor of Free State Patriot, and I will continue our work “exposing the progressive movement” in our nation and in our area.

Part of that mission now includes exposing the Herald Dispatch for what I believe to be enabling the progressive movement in the Tri-State.

And folks, we should be taking that personally.  When a town’s local newspaper begins filtering the message being delivered to the reader, they’re negating the very amendment of the Constitution which provides them the opportunity.  That, my friend, is the epitome of hypocrisy.

I look forward to partnering with each of you in helping “Keep America Great” and making the Tri-State great again!

God bless America and God Bless the Tri-State!  May He continue to deliver us from progressives who would silence His Word!

Stay tuned and armed with knowledge by visiting Freestatepatriot.com and HuntingtonNews.net.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mark Caserta: Some mainstream reporting designed to influence people

29 Dec

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Mark Caserta:  Free State Patriot editor

December 29, 2017

fake news

 

Do Americans really believe politics is being poisoned by some form of conservative “manipulation” or “influencing” of the mind, perhaps a Jedi mind trick?

Laughably, if conservatives had that ability, we would certainly use “the force” to rehabilitate liberals.

But rest assured, it’s only liberals and the complicit mainstream media with the necessary presence to impact a nation’s sentiment to the degree some would suggest. If not for conservative Christians, Donald Trump would never have been elected president of the United States. Christians are the one demographic liberals will never capture in their exploited net.

Allow me to expound.

Have you ever noticed in multiple liberal news outlets you often hear similar terminology, phrases or “talking points”? This is often a result of shared information in a process called “collective intelligence.”

Collective intelligence, as described in the Financial Times lexicon, is a social media term used to describe a “shared” intelligence or viewpoint that “emerges from collaboration and competition of many individuals” which appears on social networks designed to “solve a problem.” In this case, the problem is conservatism.

In fairness, not all similar stories in the mainstream media are the result of “collaboration” but are simply the result of a shared ideology. Sadly, since the 2016 presidential election, some media outlets even seem willing to bypass certain standards of journalism just to be able to report a “hit piece” on our president or his supporters, only to have to retract the report.

Unfortunately, some retractions are severely “underreported” compared to the original piece.

Please understand, there are some terrific news outlets with some accurate reporting. But the unprincipled ones impact our ability to know who to believe – which is poisoning politics far greater than any “conservative collusion.”

A study by Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy looked at the media coverage of President Trump, and the results were very telling.

Now, Harvard is certainly not a conservative institution. But the study found that in Trump’s first 100 days in office, the tone of the news coverage of the president was a whopping 80 percent negative compared with 20 percent positive. That, my friend, is truly an attempt to “influence.”

CNN and NBC struck a 93 percent negative tone on their Trump stories, with only 7 percent positive. CBS was third in the anti-Trump race, with a 91 to 9 ratio, per the study. The same study showed Fox News was 52 percent negative to 48 percent positive.

Here’s what to expect in 2018 and beyond:

As the disconnect continues to grow between liberal assertions of Trump’s failures and the reality of his successes for the American people, there will be a huge decline in voters’ perception of the integrity of the mainstream media. The most obvious and embarrassing reporting, to date, was the liberal media’s assertion that Hillary Clinton was a lock for president.

Talk about a liberal media “air ball.”

So, be vigilant and responsive to tactics designed to deceive you.

And understand, conservatives aren’t the ones using smoke and mirrors.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

 

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